Publications by authors named "L-J Gu"

Background: Previous trials have failed to demonstrate the benefits of extracranial-intracranial (EC-IC) bypass surgery for patients with carotid or middle cerebral artery occlusion. However, little evidence has focused on the effect of age on prognosis. This study aimed to explore whether EC-IC bypass surgery can provide greater benefits than medical therapy alone in specific age groups.

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Background: Currently, validated biomarkers for assessing hemorrhagic transformation (HT) after intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) are lacking. We aimed to validate a test combining GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein) and UCH-L1 (ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-L1) to indicate the absence of HT after IVT.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled consecutive patients with stroke treated with IVT from 16 hospitals.

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  • Tranexamic acid, an antifibrinolytic agent, was tested in a study on patients with intracerebral hemorrhage who had ongoing bleeding (spot signs) to assess its effect on hematoma growth when administered within 4.5 hours of onset.
  • A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted, evaluating randomized trials comparing tranexamic acid to a placebo, specifically including 162 participants with follow-up imaging.
  • Results showed that tranexamic acid treatment did not significantly reduce hematoma growth compared to placebo, with a slightly lower growth rate in the treatment group, but overall outcomes suggested continued monitoring and assessment of safety was needed.
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  • A multicenter randomized controlled trial in China investigated the impact of adding coronary CT-derived fractional flow reserve (CT-FFR) to routine coronary CT angiography (CCTA) on the need for invasive coronary angiography (ICA) and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD).
  • The study involved 5,297 participants, showing that the CCTA plus CT-FFR group had a lower ICA rate (10.0%) compared to the CCTA alone group (12.4%) over a 90-day follow-up.
  • While MACE rates were similar between groups, the CCTA plus CT-FFR approach resulted in fewer cardiac events after one year (0.5%
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  • Oncolytic adenoviruses are being studied for their ability to kill cancer cells and modulate the immune response, but their potential immunosuppressive effects need further investigation.
  • This study shows that type V adenoviruses can change the behavior of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and increase regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the tumor microenvironment, which can hinder immune responses against tumors.
  • Thymosin alpha 1 (Tα1) can reprogram these macrophages to support anti-tumor activity and enhance the effectiveness of the adenovirus in fighting cancer, indicating a promising direction for future cancer therapies.
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Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) stands as the most prevalent primary corneal endothelial dystrophy worldwide, posing a significant risk to corneal homeostasis and clarity. Corneal endothelial cells exhibit susceptibility to oxidative stress, suggesting a nuanced relationship between oxidant-antioxidant imbalance and FECD pathogenesis, irrespective of FECD genotype. Given the constrained availability of corneal transplants, exploration into non-surgical interventions becomes crucial.

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  • Ferroptosis is a newly discovered type of programmed cell death that shows potential in cancer treatment, although finding effective inducers is difficult.
  • Researchers designed new compounds that combine a specific chemical (ferrocene) with GPX4 inhibitors, making them capable of inducing ferroptosis and enhancing cancer cell death through reactive oxygen species (ROS).
  • This study highlights the effectiveness of these new compounds and suggests that using ferrocene can improve ferroptosis-targeted cancer therapies, paving the way for innovative treatments.
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Background: Hemodynamic impairment of blood pressure may play a crucial role in determining the mechanisms of stroke in symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis). We aimed to elucidate this issue and assess the impacts of modifications to blood pressure on hemodynamic impairment.

Methods: From the Third China National Stroke Registry III, computed fluid dynamics modeling was performed using the Newton-Krylov-Schwarz method in 339 patients with symptomatic intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis during 2015 to 2018.

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Purpose: The Zoster Eye Disease Study (ZEDS) is a multicenter randomized clinical trial (RCT) funded by the National Eye Institute aiming to determine the efficacy of suppressive valacyclovir treatment in herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO) that enrolled fewer participants than planned (527/780, 67.6%). Understanding reasons for nonparticipation of likely eligible prescreened patients provides insights into patient populations that are not represented by ZEDS and barriers in clinical trials.

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Background: LanGui tea, a traditional Chinese medicine formulation comprising of Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb.) Makino, Cinnamomum cassia (L.) J.

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Mazdutide is a once-weekly glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucagon receptor dual agonist. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of 24-week treatment of mazdutide up to 6 mg in Chinese overweight adults or adults with obesity, as an interim analysis of a randomised, two-part (low doses up to 6 mg and high dose of 9 mg), double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04904913).

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  • Large-genome bacteriophages (jumbo phages) have a protective nuclear-like compartment that shields their genetic material from the host's defense systems, such as restriction enzymes and CRISPR/Cas nucleases.
  • The phage must transport mRNA out of this compartment for protein synthesis and bring in proteins for DNA replication and mRNA transcription.
  • A key protein identified, Chimallin C (ChmC), binds RNA and helps stabilize phage mRNAs, facilitating their movement through the nuclear shell to support successful phage infection.
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  • - The study introduces a hybrid deep-learning and iterative reconstruction (hybrid DL-IR) framework designed for quick and effective medical image generation in MRI, PET, and CT scans.
  • - In MRI, the framework was tested on 6,066 cases, successfully reconstructing images from under-sampled data, reducing scan time to as short as 10-100 seconds.
  • - It also showed effectiveness in low-dose CT scans, managing to reduce radiation exposure significantly while maintaining image quality, as well as in PET scans where even small tumor lesions were accurately reconstructed.
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The cyclic GMP-AMP synthase-stimulator of interferon genes (cGAS-STING) pathway is a promising approach for anti-cancer immunotherapy by bridging innate and adaptive immunity. Recent evidence suggests that chemotherapy-induced DNA damage can directly induce dendritic cell (DC) maturation and recruitment, which synergizes with STING activation to enhance anti-tumor effects. As an immunogenic cell death (ICD) inducer, oxaliplatin generates massive double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) crosslinks, release of tumor-associated antigens and promoting the "eat me" signal.

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Cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) is a revolutionary technique for resolving the structure of subcellular organelles and macromolecular complexes in their cellular context. However, the application of the cryo-ET is hampered by the sample preparation step. Performing cryo-focused ion beam milling at an arbitrary position on the sample is inefficient, and the target of interest is not guaranteed to be preserved when thinning the cell from several micrometers to less than 300 nm thick.

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Although new strategies for breast cancer treatment have yielded promising results, most drugs can lead to serious side effects when applied systemically. Doxorubicin (DOX), currently the most effective chemotherapeutic drug to treat breast cancer, is poorly selective towards tumor cells and treatment often leads to the development of drug resistance. Recent studies have indicated that several fatty acids (FAs) have beneficial effects on inhibiting tumorigenesis.

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  • Tobacco and alcohol use contribute significantly to global mortality rates, with heritability playing a key role in these behaviors.
  • This study utilized genetic data from a diverse population of 3.4 million individuals, including 21% non-European ancestry, to identify genetic variants linked to tobacco and alcohol use.
  • Findings showed that while increased genetic diversity improved the identification of genomic loci, polygenic risk scores were less effective across different ancestries, underscoring the need for larger and more diverse genetic datasets for better predictive outcomes.
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Therapeutic cancer drug efficacy can be limited by insufficient tumor penetration, rapid clearance, systemic toxicity and (acquired) drug resistance. The poor therapeutic index due to inefficient drug penetration and rapid drug clearance and toxicity can be improved by using a liposomal platform. Drug resistance for instance against pemetrexed, can be reduced by combination with docetaxel.

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Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has shown impressive therapeutic effects on various types of cancers by reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and induction of immune responses. However, under certain conditions, the immune responses induced by PDT are not always sufficient to eradicate the remaining tumor cells. On the other hand, the photosensitizer indocyanine green (ICG) can mediate PDT under near-infrared (NIR) illumination, thereby enhancing the penetration depth of the excitation light into the tumor.

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  • Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has a poor prognosis and varies significantly between patients, leading researchers to analyze MRI images for radiomic features.
  • Researchers created two datasets: one for general breast cancer and one specific to TNBC, developing methods to differentiate TNBC from other types and identify subtypes within it.
  • A key finding is that a radiomic feature indicating heterogeneity around tumors predicts better survival rates and is linked to immune suppression and fat synthesis in tumors, contributing to a public resource for deeper understanding of TNBC biology.
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The global pandemic of COVID-19 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in widespread social and economic disruption. Effective interventions are urgently needed for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have demonstrated their prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy against SARS-CoV-2, and several have been granted authorization for emergency use.

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Background: Cardiomyopathy is a major clinical feature in Barth syndrome (BTHS), an X-linked mitochondrial lipid disorder caused by mutations in (), encoding a mitochondrial acyltransferase required for cardiolipin remodeling. Despite recent description of a mouse model of BTHS cardiomyopathy, an in-depth analysis of specific lipid abnormalities and mitochondrial form and function in an in vivo BTHS cardiomyopathy model is lacking.

Methods: We performed in-depth assessment of cardiac function, cardiolipin species profiles, and mitochondrial structure and function in our newly generated cardiomyocyte-specific knockout mice and Cre-negative control mice (n≥3 per group).

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Although the recent treatment in melanoma through the use of anti-PD-1 immunotherapy is successful, the efficacy of this approach remains to be improved. Here, we explore the feasibility of combination strategy with the armed oncolytic adenovirus ZD55-IL-24 and PD-1 blockade. We find that combination therapy with localized ZD55-IL-24 and systemic PD-1 blockade leads to synergistic inhibition of both local and distant established tumors in B16-bearing immunocompetent mouse model.

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